Manchester City look to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday to two points, before the Reds are hosted by Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola has vowed to remain at the helm of Manchester City regardless of the outcome of the 115 financial charges against him. Premier League filed against them. And he explained his duty to stop a run which saw Liverpool move five points clear at the top.

Guardiola ended speculation over his long-term future by signing a two-year contract extension this week to see him pass the 10-year mark at the Etihad. But this agreement follows what constitutes the worst run of the Catalan coaching career, having lost four consecutive matches for the first time in all competitions, before the international break.

Guardiola says new deal is proof that he will stay at the Etihad no matter what happens to the club due to the series of financial burdens that have been imposed on them. City have always maintained their innocence and the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager insists he will stay at Manchester even if heavy sanctions are imposed.

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“I said it six months ago,” Guardiola said in his Friday press conference ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s visit on Saturday. “You have my interviews here and I said the same thing. Just because I extended the contract doesn’t mean I’m pretending how nice Pep is.

“I said it six months or a year ago – when other clubs are accusing us of doing something wrong – so what happens if we get relegated? I’ll be there.

“Next year we will come back, I don’t know, if we are in the Conference (National League), we will come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.

“You are capable of losing four games in a row, but you are also capable of winning four Premier Leagues in a row. The difference is that most teams are capable of losing four games in different competitions, but only one team has won four Premier Leagues in a row.

“I said yesterday (Thursday) that I thought I should stay here, of course because they wanted me because of the results. We have known each other for a long time but all my decisions in my life have been like that, I wait and sometimes I feel like it was a time to stay here, what I feel at the moment In just two hours we did it.

“Why two years and not one? weather report. That’s a good question! I don’t want it to be like this next year (the media say) “this is Pep’s last year, he will have to extend again”. So that was the main reason because at the end, the contract is there and I would like to stay for two more years but I also know that if the results are not good, I won’t be there for another two years.

“The players too, so we are having an incredible time with legendary players here, but we have to perform. If we don’t perform, our president, our fans will ask what is happening and we will have to change. So everyone is under pressure and I am the first (the first) to have a contract but I will only be there for another month, perhaps, when the situation is not going well.

“I think we deserve to continue what we have done in recent years, extend the contract. I am not naive enough to stay. I deserve to extend the contract but at the same time we have to try to live up to it . but otherwise, of course, the club must find a solution.”

City have the chance to close the gap on leaders Arne Slot when Spurs travel to the Etihad on Saturday, but Guardiola has confirmed he will be without Mateo Kovacic in midfield to replace Ball-winner Rodri d’Or, whose season could be over after an ACL injury against Arsenal earlier in the campaign.

Guardiola added: “Kovacic is injured. It will take some time, three weeks or a month. John StonesManu Akanji trained well yesterday. Nathan Ake returns to training. We didn’t have a central defender, now we have three.

“Only Ruben Dias is absent but he will be back soon. I don’t know if they are ready to play 90 minutes, but seeing their faces in training is really good.”

“Max Alleyne will also be injured. Going to the U21s because they pushed his limits and he came back injured. They should be in more contact with the national team doctors and the doctors here, because if a player is not going not in perfect condition and trains with the U21s in the morning and in the afternoon with the U20s, then plays two matches without being fully fit, it’s normal that he is injured and we will lose him for three more weeks at one month.